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2012 Ford Explorer

The redesigned Ford Explorer is already selling quite well, and it looks like the three-row crossover is about to add another variant to boost the bottom line a little more. Ford posted on its Facebook page a 26-second video that teases what looks to be a high-performance version of the Explorer.

For 2012, Ford will bolster its EcoBoost commitment by equipping both the Explorer and the Edge with its turbocharged, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. This pint-sized mill boosts the Explorer's fuel economy rating to "segment-leading" status and pushes the Edge to the 30-mpg mark.

With Ford stepping up to become the first automaker to support the Safe Drivers Act of 2011, the Blue Oval is putting its money where its mouth is by dropping the price of its Sync system from $395 to $295.

Ford's reborn Explorer has been selling at a brisk clip since being introduced for the 2011 model year, with some 65,823 units finding homes through June. While that's a far cry from the line's salad days back in the '90s, that total already pips the previous generation's 2010 sales figures for the entire year. And that's with just one engine, the 3.5-liter V6.

We're going to go out on a limb and say... maybe. Judging by the recent teasers and previous spy shots, this single image of the 2012 Ford Explorer appears to be the real deal. And we like what we see.

Between 1995 and 2004, the Ford Explorer was the best-selling SUV in America. Of course, we all know what's taken place in the last few years, and both the Explorer and the SUV market it helped to found have taken a nosedive in both overall sales and perceived desirability. Ford looks to put its Explorer back on an upward trajectory for the 2012 model year with a brand new version, this time based on the same architecture that underpins the slow-selling Flex.